Meeting with the Thunder God
by NoRatCat
Summary: While imparting another lesson to his apprentice, Rafiki and Makini receive a visit from a special guest. One that is not mortal.


It was a lovely day in the Pride Lands. The Lion Guard were busy with their duties, while Rafiki was busy teaching his new apprentice all she needed to know. Of course, the days were not entirely pleasant. A great evil had returned to the Pride Lands: Scar. The animals of the Outlands had banded together underneath his leadership. Each day they grew more organized. The Guard would certainly have their work cut out for them, but they had proven time and time again they could handle anything.

Makini on the other hand, still had a lot to learn. The young mandrill was chatting away as usual. That was one of her chief features, she never seemed to stop talking. But, nonetheless, Rafiki was able to grab her attention, for now at least.

"No Makini." Rafiki began. "I've told you about da spirits have I not?"

"Oh yes! The spirits speak to Mjuzi's like us and they guide us and tell us what do do and-"

"Yes yes, but what you may not know is dat dere are beings higher than the spirits."

Makini looked momentarily confused. "Really? But I mean the spirits are so...spiritual. There's nothing they don't know."

"It's true dat da spirits hold great knowledge, but dey pale in comparison to gods."

"What are gods exactly?" Makini asked.

Rafiki considered his words carefully for a moment. "De gods are protectors. While dee spirits guide us, the gods are charged with governing all of life."

"Oh you mean like King Simba and Queen Nala right?" Makini piped up excitably.

"Yes, but on a grander scale. The world we live in is beyond what we know. And the gods are charged with maintaining it." Suddenly, the wind shifted, and Rafiki smiled. "Speaking of which."

Suddenly, a bolt of lighting struck the ground, causing Makini to let out a yelp. The flash the lightning presented ended in seconds and standing where it struck was a human. Or at least, it looked human. Makini had only heard tales of humans. They were creatures who stood upright on two legs, wearing colored skins. She had heard some humans protected animals, while others hunted them. They were a mixed bag, but Makini could already tell something was off about this human. First off, he wore skins of white and blue, with a strange hat atop his head. But what was most noticeable about this human, were that his eyes glowed a blue light.

Makini kept caution towards this human, mouth agape due to the spontaneous way he arrived. But Rafiki merely smiled and did a bow, "Lord Raiden, a pleasure to see you."

The human, Raiden did a similar bow, one showing respect. "The pleasure is mine Rafiki."

"Wait? You know this person Rafiki?" Makini asked, her mouth no longer hanging open.

Rafiki did a small laugh towards his apprentice. "Makini, dis is Lord Raiden, god of thunder and lightning and protector of the realm of earth. Lord Raiden, dis is my apprentice Makini." Rafiki introduced.

Makini let out a tiny gasp, balling her hands to her face. "Oh...my...gosh!" The young mandrill practically leaped with joy as she rushed over to Raiden. "An actual...real life...god!" Makini's heart was practically leaping out of her chest and she looked over the thunder god. "You came down in that lightning, can you control it?"

"Well I-" Raiden started, but found himself repeatedly interrupted by the mandrill.

"So how many gods are there? Is there a god for everything? What about the spirits? Can you talk to them?"

"Makini!"

Makini stopped as her teacher's voice cut through her own. "Please give Lord Raiden some space. I'm certain he came here for other reasons."

The young animal flushed a bit before turning away. "Sorry, it's just meeting a god, it's so exciting."

Rafiki smiled and shook his head. "I believe our lesson is over for now. Run along."

"Okay! I'm going to tell Kion and the others that I met a god!"

And before long, Makini was off into the African savanna.

"Forgive my apprentice Lord Raiden." Rafiki apologized.

"It's quite all right. I'm glad you found someone so...spirited to pass on your teachings. Why it feels like only yesterday you were young and excitable."

"Ah yes, I remember those days. I still recall the sense you knocked into me." Rafiki meant that literally. "So, what brings you here?"

"I have been traveling around Earthrealm to give warnings of what is to come." Raiden answered.

"Trouble?" Rafiki replied with curiosity.

"Yes. In the coming days, a tournament will commence." Raiden replied grimly. "One that will affect all of Earthrealm."

"What trouble does dis tournament entail?"

"Fighters from all over the realm will gather to do battle with the fighters of a realm called Outworld. If we win, then our realm will be safe, but if we loose, our realm will be absorbed by Outworld and be forever ruled by it's emperor."

Rafiki's stood alert. "Dat is indeed grim."

"Yes. And those who are not enslaved will die." Raiden added.

The old mandrill let out a sigh. "It seems that the danger has spread even beyond the Pride Lands."

"There are problems here?" Raiden asked.

Rafiki nodded. "Let's just say an old evil has returned to de Pride Lands. Beyond the grave even." Rafiki looked in Raiden's eyes and could tell the thunder god was wondering if this "evil" would affect the realm as a whole. "Worry not my friend, Dis is a matter for the beasts, not men."

Raiden nodded, feeling a sense of ease, for the most part. "Still there is hope. The order I represent has chosen a champion to represent them. One that I have watched for years. His name is Liu Kang. And I have hope he is Earthrealm's best chance."

"A chosen one you would say?" Rafiki responded with amusement. "Curious, de Pride Lands has a "chosen one" of it's own. The second born of the royal family receives a gift. One that they use to protect. His name is Kion."

"A strong name." Raiden stated. "I am glad that your home has a champion to defend it. But I would caution yourself for the coming days."

"I am not worried my lord. I feel confident both our champions will do their duties and defeat the evil dat threatens us."

Raiden nodded. "I must go. There are others I must inform."

Both the god and the mandrill bowed to one another and in a flash, Raiden was gone. Rafiki went back to his business, while Raiden's thoughts turned towards the evil that Rafiki mentioned. At the mention of "beyond the grave", he wondered if somehow the Netherrealm was involved? But, a larger problem presented itself, the Mortal Kombat tournament. Men had their matters, and beasts had their own. That was the way of things.

And in another part of Africa, a young female mandrill was busy talking a young lion cub's head off about her encounter with the thunder god.

A/N: Okay. Been playing Mortal Kombat 11 again, and was inspired to write this. This is sort of a followup to that one shot where Scar met Shinnok and Wuan Chi while in the NetherRealm. And man it's hard to stay consistent with Rafiki's accent.


End file.
